§ 2.802 Petition for rulemaking.

(a) Any interested person may petition the Commission to issue, amend or rescind any regulation. The petition should be addressed to the Secretary, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, and sent either by mail addressed to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; by facsimile; by hand delivery to the NRC's offices at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland; or, where practicable, by electronic submission, for example, via Electronic Information Exchange, e-mail, or CD-ROM. Electronic submissions must be made in a manner that enables the NRC to receive, read, authenticate, distribute, and archive the submission, and process and retrieve it a single page at a time. Detailed guidance on making electronic submissions can be obtained by visiting the NRC’s Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html; by e-mail to MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov; or by writing the Office of Information Services, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555–0001. The guidance discusses, among other topics, the formats the NRC can accept, the use of electronic signatures, and the treatment of nonpublic information.

(b) A prospective petitioner may consult with the NRC before filing a petition for rulemaking by writing to the Chief, Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. A prospective petitioner also may telephone the Rulemaking, Directives, and Editing Branch on (301) 415-7163, or toll free on (800) 368-5642, or send e-mail to NRCREP@nrc.gov.

(1) In any consultation prior to the filing of a petition for rulemaking, the assistance that may be provided by the NRC staff is limited to—

(i) Describing the procedure and process for filing and responding to a petition for rulemaking;

(ii) Clarifying an existing NRC regulation and the basis for the regulation; and

(iii) Assisting the prospective petitioner to clarify a potential petition so that the Commission is able to understand the nature of the issues of concern to the petitioner.

(2) In any consultation prior to the filing of a petition for rulemaking, in providing the assistance permitted in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, the NRC staff will not draft or develop text or alternative approaches to address matters in the prospective petition for rulemaking.

(c) Each petition filed under this section shall:

(1) Set forth a general solution to the problem or the substance or text of any proposed regulation or amendment, or specify the regulation which is to be revoked or amended;

(2) State clearly and concisely the petitioner's grounds for and interest in the action requested;

(3) Include a statement in support of the petition which shall set forth the specific issues involved, the petitioner's views or arguments with respect to those issues, relevant technical, scientific or other data involved which is reasonably available to the petitioner, and such other pertinent information as the petitioner deems necessary to support the action sought. In support of its petition, petitioner should note any specific cases of which petitioner is aware where the current rule is unduly burdensome, deficient, or needs to be strengthened.

(d) The petitioner may request the Commission to suspend all or any part of any licensing proceeding to which the petitioner is a participant pending disposition of the petition for rulemaking.

(e) If it is determined that the petition includes the information required by paragraph (c) of this section and is complete, the Director, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, or designee, will assign a docket number to the petition, will cause the petition to be formally docketed, and will make a copy of the docketed petition available at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov. Public comment may be requested by publication of a notice of the docketing of the petition in the Federal Register, or, in appropriate cases, may be invited for the first time upon publication in the Federal Register of a proposed rule developed in response to the petition. Publication will be limited by the requirements of Section 181 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and may be limited by order of the Commission.

(f) If it is determined by the Executive Director for Operations that the petition does not include the information required by paragraph (c) of this section and is incomplete, the petitioner will be notified of that determination and the respects in which the petition is deficient and will be accorded an opportunity to submit additional data. Ordinarily this determination will be made within 30 days from the date of receipt of the petition by the Office of the Secretary of the Commission. If the petitioner does not submit additional data to correct the deficiency within 90 days from the date of notification to the petitioner that the petition is incomplete, the petition may be returned to the petitioner without prejudice to the right of the petitioner to file a new petition.

(g) The Director, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, will prepare on a semiannual basis a summary of petitions for rulemaking before the Commission, including the status of each petition. A copy of the report will be available for public inspection and copying at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov, and/or at the NRC Public Document Room.